(Editor’s note: The following is an unedited press release from the candidate’s campaign. We have blogged this item in order to give MassLive users the ability to comment.)

HOLYOKE—Mayoral candidate Daniel C. Boyle is calling on Mayor Alex B. Morse and officials of the Geriatric Authority of Holyoke (GAH) to notify residents and their family members as well as employees of the Holyoke Geriatric and Convalescent Center at 45 Lower Westfield Road plus all residents of that neighborhood about the organization which has signed a lease for what previously had been the vacant “B” Building at that facility.

“For several weeks, there have been a variety of contractors performing work in the “B” Building,” said Boyle, “and, so far, no one in the neighborhood has received official notice of what’s going on. All abutting neighbors as well as the residents of the Holyoke Geriatrics have a right to know who that property will have as tenants.

“Further,” said Boyle, “it is my understanding that the GAH had an obligation to seek approval for the lease from the Holyoke City Council beforehand. That’s an action that they did not take. I base that conclusion on the fact that in at least two previous instances, when the GAH was going to rent to an outside organization, they were required to seek City Council approval. Those two instances were rental to the Holyoke Blue Sox baseball team when they first arrived in town and the residents of the Holyoke Soldiers Home when their own facility was undergoing a major HVAC upgrade. If it was necessary then, why not now?

“My further understanding is that when the GAH undertakes a lease arrangement, if the lessor does not fall within the mission statement of the GAH – specifically to house and provide medical care for elderly residents of the City of Holyoke – then City Council approval for any other services is required. In inquiries to three city councilors, none knew about the lease.

“In private discussions with some in the neighborhood of Holy Family Road and Lower Westfield Road, I was told that Mayor Morse, when contacted, said he didn’t know anything about the lease, but that it was a ‘done deal’ and nothing could be done to change it. Also, I was told that he said the notification to abutters was the responsibility of the GAH. I find all of that hard to believe, especially since the mayor appoints three members to the GAH board. Is he saying his appointees are not keeping him advised as to the goings-on?

“Personally, I have been a supporter of the GAH for many years. My grandmother was a resident there for several years at the end of her life. My mother-in-law also spent the last 10 to 12 years of her life living at the Holyoke Geriatrics and receiving the best possible care and attention from all staff members. My wife Angela and I formed a family council there and Angela was a GAH board member for more than six years. My questions now have nothing to do with any change in my position regarding the value of the GAH to Holyoke. Still, I am concerned about actions taking place there now behind closed doors when the public has a right to know.”